Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars 1959
Dick Clark engaged GAC to book a tour headlined by Paul Anka and to also star Lloyd Price, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Clanton, LaVern Baker, Coasters, Drifters, Skyliners, Bobby Rydell and Phil Phillips. Arthur Dover was hired as the MC for shows where Clark did not appear. Irving Feld was the tour's promoter. August 30, 1959 Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA (with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Anita Bryant, Dody Stevens, Skip & Flip, Strangers, Duane Eddy, Freddie Cannon, Jan and Dean, Bobby Rydell, Jack Scott, Ray Sharpe, Jerry Wallace, the Young Lions. Clark's Caravan set an all-time attendance record at the Bowl with over 5,000 being turned away. Variety reported that police set up loudspeakers six blocks away to tell people the show was sold out) September 4-7, 1959 Fairgrounds Coliseum, Michigan State Fair, Detroit, MI (with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, LaVern Baker, Coasters, Freddie Cannon, Duane Eddy, Bobby Rydell, Anita Bryant, Jan and Dean, Jack Scott, Ray Sharpe, Skip & Flip, Rusty York, Santo & Johnny, Dick Carouso. Another huge success as the show set another attendance record by over 15,000 over the previous record in the fair's 110-year history) With such overwhelming success, Clark engaged GAC to book a tour headlined by Paul Anka and also starring Lloyd Price, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Clanton, Laverne Baker, Coasters, Drifters, Skyliners, Bobby Rydell, and Phil Phillps. Arthur Dover was hired as the MC for shows where Clark did not appear. Irving Feld was the tour's promoter. September 18, 1959 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD September 19, 1959 Boston Garden, Boston, MA (cancelled as the garden was used for a hockey game earlier in the afternoon and it was impossible to switch stages) September 19, 1959 Scranton, PA September 20, 1959 Forum, Montreal, QC September 21, 1959 Maple Leaf Garden, Toronto, ON September 22, 1959 War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY September 23, 1959 Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY September 24, 1959 Sports Arena, Hershey, PA September 25, 1959 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA (2 shows 7.30 & 10.30, with Paul Anka, Lloyd Price, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Clanton, LaVern Baker, Coasters, Drifters, Skyliners, Bobby Rydell, Phil Phillps) September 27, 1959 The Mosque, Richmond, VA (2 shows 7.00 & 10.00, with Paul Anka, Lloyd Price, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Clanton, LaVern Baker, Coasters, Drifters, Skyliners, Bobby Rydell, Phil Phillps) September 28, 1959 Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC September 29, 1959 Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, SC September 30, 1959 Coliseum, Charlotte, NC October 1, 1959 Township Auditorium, Columbia, SC (2 shows 7.30 & 10.00) October 2, 1959 Municipal Auditorium, Charleston, WV (2 shows) October 3, 1959 State Fairgrounds, Louisville, KY October 4, 1959 Nashville, TN October 5, 1959 Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, OH October 6, 1959 Memorial Auditorium, Canton, OH October 7, 1959 Lorain Arena, Lorain, OH October 8, 1959 Veteran’s Building, Columbus, OH (2 shows) October 9, 1959 Sports Arena, Toledo, OH October 10, 1959 Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, MI October 11, 1959 Elkhart, IL October 13, 1959 Fort Wayne, IN October 14, 1959 Hobart Arena, Troy, OH October 15, 1959 Indiana Theater, Indianapolis, IN (2 shows 7.15 & 9.45) October 16, 1959 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO (2 shows 8.00 & 11.00) October 17, 1959 Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO (The Caravan gains its first negative notoriety when midway through the show, fights break out amongst the 12,000 plus audience and police moved in to break up the melee. In all, 49 men were arrested ranging in age from 17 to 50 for disturbing the peace and public drunkeness. Although Dick Clark was not at the show, his association with the show drew lots of press and he held a news conference in New York to defend the Caravan. He denied that the performers were responsible for what happened and said, "What happened was certainly unfortunate, but it only reflects the attitude of a few of the thousands of people there") October 18, 1959 Forum, Wichita, KS October 20, 1959 Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, TX October 21, 1959 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, TX October 22, 1959 Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX (The cast hosted an on-stage birthday celebration for Annette Funicello. Although San Antonio had an additional 25 officers on hand, there was no trouble) October 23, 1959 Memorial Coliseum, Fort Worth, TX October 24, 1959 Municipal Auditorium, Oklahoma City, OK (2 shows) October 25, 1959 Auditorium, Wichita, KS October 27, 1959 Auditorium Arena, Omaha, NE October 28, 1959 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN (Police Chief Milton Winslow cancelled this show in the aftermath of the KC arrests. Minneapolis had encountered four violent rock 'n roll shows in the past year. "I am certain violence will occur again," he told the Associated Press) October 29, 1959 Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines, IA October 31, 1959 Arena, Milwaukee, WI